The Bargaining Path

by T. Rudacille

  ***

  The meeting that Brynna mentioned hearing about convened a week or so later. Nick, James, Elijah, and I spent the day chopping up the large logs that had been given to us by Janna's people. We had hauled them over to our back yards from the very top of the square, chopped them up into manageable pieces, and stored them in a shed that we shared between our houses. Brynna slept for only a couple of hours, arising at midday to show Violet and Alice how to skin a deer that had also been given to us by Janna's people.

  “Say what you want about Adam, but his friends are generous.” I told James as we tossed chopped pieces of wood into the shed unceremoniously.

  “Yeah. I can say all sorts of things about Adam.”

  His eyes, which I could have sworn carried a hint of suspicion, landed on Brynna, who was chiding Violet and Alice for screaming every time she cut into the deer.

  Something had cooled between them, and we all had noticed it. Well, everyone except Elijah, who was still giving both of them the cold shoulder. Though they still had their usual moments of showing affection, there was something less enthusiastic about it. It was like one or both of them was keeping a secret, and both knew that a secret was being kept and resented it, but didn’t care enough to get to the bottom of what it was. It was so unlike them, and Violet confided in Alice and me that Brynna was still wandering around most of the night in the house, smoking and pacing, and James would get up with her and go out with her to the living room only to fall asleep on the couch, whereas before, he would stay up with her for most of the night.

  During the day, she showed no signs of whatever was wrong with her outwardly. But at night, Violet said, there was no denying it.

  “But she won’t tell me or James or anyone. James even went to Adam, who of course wouldn’t tell him anything.” Violet had told us. “I’m about to go see him to make him tell me.”

  Of course, Nick had talked her out of that. Most of us still feared Adam, despite Brynna’s new approval of him.

  “Ladies! If I were not here to do this, you would have to do it yourselves! What would you do then!?” Brynna demanded loudly and irritably.

  “Make James or Nick or Quinn or Eli do it!” Violet whined back at her as she and Alice grasped each other, both cowering away from the deer.

  “No, you are on your own with that!” Nick called to her, as we all chuckled and watched them.

  “James, your girl is a beast.” I told him, because I thought that maybe he would say something that would explain away the look I thought I had seen when he had spoken a few minutes earlier.

  “Yeah, she is.” He replied, and now, all I heard was pride in his voice. There was no sarcasm, no condescension. Only pride. “A sexy beast!”

  Brynna's head snapped up, and she pointed the bloody knife (with her bloody hand) at James.

  “Did you really just take a compliment that Quinn paid me, a compliment that was praising my work ethic, survival skills, and determination to keep all of us fed, sheltered, and safe from Old Spirits and the creatures in the forest, and turn it into a trivialized, misogynistic comment on my physical attractiveness? Did you just equate my entire worth to being, as you described me, 'sexy?'”

  I was covering my mouth, trying to hide how hysterically I was laughing. When James looked at me for help, I shook my head, and laughed even harder.

  “You're on your own, man.”

  “James, I was asking you that in all seriousness.” She prodded him, and I could see that her irritation—and it was only irritation, as she knew that he was probably kidding—was bubbling dangerously.

  “You're holding a knife. I don't like it.” James told her blithely.

  “James, she's going to come over there and skin you like this deer in a minute.” Violet informed him, “And you'd deserve it, too!”

  “Yeah! We are women, hear us roar!” Alice agreed, and she and Violet started laughing almost as hard as I was. When Brynna scowled at them, they both stopped abruptly.

  “The answer to your question...” James told her, as he walked over to her slowly, his hand outstretched, “…is yes; I did. But not in complete austerity. Thine anger is admirable, and we peasants shall certainly feel your wrath, because my remarks were meant to offend, simply because I do so love your shows of spirit. Furthermore, thine beauty is so riveting, that I simply cannot resist...”

  “Oh, shut up, James.” She murmured, but I could see that she was smiling. Nick and I were cracking up, because we knew that his little act was the same as any other guys' would be, but his was a little more advanced. He had several years on us, after all, so we didn't have to apologize for not being as skilled at resolving conflict with our girlfriends as he was.

  She was looking down again, her eyes focused solely on what she was doing, and he dipped his head down below hers to kiss her quickly.

  “I love you. You know I'm kidding.”

  He thought that we couldn't hear him, but Nick and I were smirking at each other, as though we both wouldn't say the exact same thing to Violet or Alice if they were irritated at us.

  “Resume your work, gentlemen!” Brynna snapped at us, and as usual, her forceful tone was so intimidating that we didn't ask questions; we gave them their privacy.

  We only turned back around when James exclaimed loudly, and Brynna could be heard laughing riotously. When we saw that she had rubbed her bloody hands down his face, we couldn't help but laugh with her.

  “You so deserved that!” Alice told him, jumping up and down excitedly.

  James picked Brynna up, and rubbed his face against hers so that the blood smeared onto her, too. She yelped playfully and whacked him several times in the arm so he would drop her, but he didn't.

  “Heathens! We've become heathens!” Nick exclaimed, “Don't let the Bachums see you! They will think that we bathe in blood!”

  We only laughed harder at that.

  “Let them see! Let them see our savagery!” Violet shouted back.

  “Good word!” Brynna praised her.

  “Wasn't it?!” Violet replied joyously as they high-fived.

  “Oh, God or Gods, I hate you.” Brynna murmured to James, but she kissed him. Every few seconds, she would kiss him quickly, or he would kiss her, like nothing was amiss with them at all. Their temperamental shifts between an awkward coldness and their normal shows of affection were beginning to confuse me.

  “Brynna!” A voice exclaimed behind us, “Ew!”

  “Penny!” James was still holding Brynna, so she kicked him in the shins, and he dropped her. Once she was standing again, she turned to face Penny.

  “Kissing is for icky grown-ups.” She lectured, “Remember? And you and James aren’t icky!”

  “Of course! You are right. My apologies, baby.”

  “Accepted.” Penny beamed and rushed to them, wrapping one arm around Brynna and one around James.

  “Did you have fun at Jamie's house?” James asked her after kissing her head.

  “Yeah. But Don's here to see you two. He said he didn't want to come around to this side, because he knows Brynna is cutting up a deer, or something.” She looked so puzzled that James laughed, and Brynna forced herself to, but we could see that she was irritated. “I don't really see why her cutting up a deer makes him want to stay out front. Maybe he's afraid. I'm not afraid. I like helping.”

  “I know you do. You are the very best helper. Violet and Alice are too afraid to help, so I need you to stay here and show them how it is done, as they say. But no playing with the knife, yes?”

  “Yes.” Penny nodded emphatically, and Brynna and James headed around the side of the house, wiping their faces off on the backs of their sleeves and looking somber.

  “What do you think he wants?” Nick asked me.

  “I don't know. It's probably about that meeting we’ve been hearing about for a week and a half.” I replied as I chewed a mint leaf absentmindedly. When I saw that he didn't seem satisfied by that answer, I frowned slightly. “What, do y
ou want to go listen, or something?”

  “I like to know things before they happen. If there is something big to know, I'd rather know right away.” He replied.

  “You’re right. Let’s go.”